An occasion when he instructed for a concussed player to be told he was Pelé and sent back onto the pitch is one of the most famous quotes in British football.

Lambie subsequently kept Thistle, in the top flight for a following three seasons, and qualifying for the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup, the first time The Jags had been in European Competition since, the 1970s.

[3] The Herald wrote in 2002 that "It is odd how, despite Lambie playing over 200 games for Falkirk, and scoring a decent haul of goals as a defender, he is only remembered for his disastrous managerial reign".

[9] The final stages of the season were chronicled in the BBC Scotland fly on the wall documentary Grasping the Thistle, known for Lambie's use of profanity.

[10][11] In January 2003, Lambie announced that he would retire at the end of the season as he did not agree with new regulations in football; he had attempted to sign Nathan Lowndes and Steven Ferguson on loan from English clubs but was barred by FIFA as they had both recently played in Scotland for other teams.

[12] On 17 May 2003 he made his farewell in his last game at Firhill Stadium, a 1–0 loss to Dundee United, having already guaranteed survival in the SPL on a considerably lower budget than their competitors.

Lambie is remembered for his reaction when Partick player Colin McGlashan suffered a concussion; he ordered his assistant Gerry Collins to "Tell him he's Pelé and get him back on".